French PM booed on visit to wildfire-affected region as Belgium tackles enormous blaze – Europe live
Belgium is battling its largest wildfire in history within the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve, while the French Prime Minister faced public backlash during a visit to a fire-affected region. The fires, exacerbated by a summer heatwave, have prompted evacuations and raised concerns about the environmental impact across Europe.
Why it matters
The ongoing wildfires underscore the increasing severity of climate-related disasters in Europe and the political pressure leaders face during such crises.
Belgium’s King Philippe will visit the area affected by what is believed to be the largest wildfire in the country’s history this morning, after a weekend of intense firefighting in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve.
A drone view shows smoke rising from burnt fields and forests during a wildfire near Waimes, in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes) region, Belgium. The fire has been raging since Friday afternoon, burning more than 3,000 hectares of land, provisional figures show.
Over the weekend, the blaze crept closer to the German border, prompting the precautionary evacuation of parts of the town of Monschau .
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